1. Technical Field
The present patent document relates generally to heart valve repair in open heart surgery and more specifically to a heart valve sizing ring and method to properly size a heart valve reinforcement ring prosthesis for proper implantation.
2. Background of the Related Art
Accurate selection of ring size and shape is a critical component of heart valve repair surgery. Current “annulus-sizers” or “valve-sizers” are, by design, not very accurate at actually assessing size (they only provide an estimate) and, certainly, provide no ability for physiologic assessment of the repair procedure in terms of valve function after repair.
Therefore, there is a perceived need in the industry for a ring sizing tool that allows the surgeon to accurately assess the size of the ring prosthesis needed and allows assessment of the fit on the patient, i.e. whether the fit is leaky or too tight.